Savior
by Death Phoenix
Summary: Naruto always had been the one to save him, had always been his savior. So why would now be any different? Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with Naruto, though I wish I did.

The first inkling Naruto got that something was wrong was shiver that went down his spine. He brushed it off because at the moment he was rather busy. The blond Jinchuuriki had just returned to Konoha from his training trip with Jiraiya and as such his skills needed to be re-assessed. So Naruto was sparring with his former sensei Kakashi while his sensei Jiraiya, Tsunade the Hokage, her assisstant Shizune, and his former teammate Sakura watched. When the hairs on the back of neck began to stand on end he took notice and tried frantically to find out what the hell was making him so uneasy.

As a Jinchuuriki he was much more in touch with his instincts and he had learned to trust them. Like he had the first time he saw Gaara, the Jinchuuriki of Ichibi no Tanuki, Shuukaku. Gaara, the crimson-haired Godaime Kazekage who invaded his thoughts, his dreams, his heart. Not that the stoic red-head had any idea and Naruto feared rejection too much to risk losing any connection he had to his fellow Jinchuuriki. But for some reason just thinking Gaara's name made the uneasy feeling increase ten-fold. Something was wrong; Naruto could feel it. His instincts were practically screaming it now.

When the uneasiness became pure dread Naruto stopped right in the middle of the training grounds and his whole body turned to face in the direction of Sunagakure no Sato, the village that Gaara ruled. The blond's odd behavior caught the attention of everyone present, especially when his killing intent started flaring in startling amounts. Naruto was quite talented beneath the mask he wore, the mask that helped him survive. The mask and Kyuubi had been the only things to keep him sane when he was younger. Being a Jinchuuriki had certain advantages if one could look past the horrific childhoods filled with abuse, loneliness, isolation, assassination attempts, and utter hatred. Naruto had the gift of Sight, though in his case it was rather unique in that he could do much more than look into the future. His Sight was not as limited as traditional doujutsu.

So it came as no surprise that Naruto would use his gift to find out what was making his instincts go crazy. The blond Jinchuuriki just really, really didn't like what he was Seeing in the least. Deidara, a nuke-nin from Iwa, and Akasuna no Sasori, a nuke-nin from Suna, were in Kaze no Kuni and headed for Sunagakure no Sato. Far from surprising considering they were wearing black cloaks with red clouds. Akatsuki. Of course the images that followed, what the future would be if no one interfered, did not paint a pretty picture, for anyone involved.

Kankuro would be fatally poisoned by Sasori as he fought to defend Gaara. Deidara would lose an arm to Gaara's sand. Temari would not arrive in time to help either of her younger brothers because she had left Konoha for Suna too late to be of any help. And Gaara would put his body, his very being, everything into defending Suna to the best of his abilities. But Deidara didn't play fair; the clay using blond would use the people of Suna, Gaara's people who had not yet been fully evacuated, against the crimson-haired Jinchuuriki. Gaara would be sacrifice himself to save his people, proving that he was indeed a human sacrifice, a Jinchuuriki, and be captured by the very organiztaion that wanted to strip Shuukaku from him. Gaara would die, and die all alone, without anyone by his side.

Something deep inside rebelled at the very thought of Gaara being hurt, of Gaara dying. Jinchuuriki weren't supposed to die; they were Guardians whose job was to keep the balance. But Gaara could die, just as Naruto could, because neither of them had reached their majority, neither were eighteen. There was no way Naruto was going to let Akatsuki scum take Gaara from the world, from him. They would never get the chance.

Jiraiya, worried for his student carefully approached the blond before stopping at what he deemed a safe distance. "Oi! What's wrong Brat!?! You're acting strange." But Jiraiya wasn't being completely truthful. He knew full well that his blond student wore a mask and that he was gifted with Sight. Gamabunta had nearly made the white-haired Sennin into a very flat pancake when Jiraiya had shown he had been ignorant of Naruto's rare gift. Thankfully the rather large toad hadn't gone through with his threat. The Gama Sennin recognized the look on Naruto's face. The blond Jinchuuriki was Seeing something that pissed him off a great deal, and worried him as well, or he wouldn't have that look in his sapphire eyes. His fears were confirmed when Naruto growled one word that explained the sheer killing intent rolling off the blond.

"Akatsuki!" Naruto turned his head to look his sensei right in the eyes. Jiraiya on his part forced himself not to step back or react negatively to the more than feral look Naruto was sporting. Those usually calm sapphire orbs had become a fiery scarlet that just screamed overwhelming rage and fierce protectiveness. But it was the second word that fell from the blond's lips that explained the extent of Naruto's rage and the protectiveness in his eyes. Jiraiya knew just how much this one person, this one very precious person, meant to Naruto, who looked as if large quantities of blood was about to be spilt in a rather brutal fashion. "Gaara." The name was rolled off Naruto's tongue in a much gentler tone than the word Akatsuki had.

No sooner than had the last syllable of Gaara's name echoed throughout the clearing Naruto was gone, leaving only an afterimage behind. That told everyone in the clearing besides Jiraiya shocked at the sheer speed that the blond possessed. The Gama Sennin wasn't all that surprised at Naruto's actions. Gaara apparently needed his fellow Jinchuuriki, probably more than he even knew he needed him. But Jiraiya didn't blame Naruto for his actions either. If anyone deserved to be happy it was Naruto and Gaara, both of whom had seen and experienced things that no one, much less children should ever have to.

Seeing the gathering anger on Tsunade's face, Jiraiya decided to stop her before she got herself into a full-blown rage. "He is needed elsewhere Tsunade. Konoha does not appreciate Naruto; they never have and probably never will. Gaara's in trouble, probably being attacked by Akatsuki if Naruto's reaction and words are anything to go by. He most likely isn't going to want to leave Suna after he rescues the Kazekage. I would suggest that you sign the transfer papers I got ready at the beginning of the training trip I took him on."

Tsunade, as well as the other shinobi in the training grounds, were speechless at Jiraiya's words. The white-haired pervert had just implied that he had always known Naruto would want to leave Konoha. But none of them could dispute the Gama Sennin's logic or his assessment of Konoha in regards to Naruto ever being appreciated. "Why wouldn't he want to leave Suna Jiraiya? What could drive him to stay there?"

Jiraiya looked his fellow Sannin teammate in the eyes as he spoke. "His most precious person is in Suna and he will never willingly leave his precious person's side ever again. Not after that precious person has been threatened. Sign the papers Tsunade and let Naruto be happy. He will never find happiness in Konoha, no matter how much you wish he could. I would suggest you send me to escort the signed papers and the Suna ambassador Temari to Suna once she is found. Naruto will need me; I do have more to tach him after all."

Once more Tsunade was unable to refute Jiraiya's truthful statements. Naruto, someone who deserved happiness, would never find it here in Konoha, a village full of people that ignored him at best and outright hated him at worst. But that perverted teammate of hers better be right about Naruto being happier in Suna or she would break every perverted bone in his body as well as rip off what made him a man. Tsunade looked Jiraiya in the eyes to show she was serious "Give me the papers. I'll sign them. Naruto desrves to be happy and you'll make sure he is or I'll show you an entirely new definition of the word agony. Do you understand me Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya swallowed nervously. Tsunade-hime looked positively evil with her amver eyes narrowed and flashing like they were. The white-haired male knew better than to fuck around when his female teammate had that expression on her face. That expression usually led to extreme pain for the one who dared to piss her off, which unfortunately was usually Jiraiya. So, in an effort to not get beaten within an inch of his life by provoking the blod medic-nin, Jiraiya removed a scroll from one of his hidden pockets then proceeded to remove the transfer papers from it. He watched as Tsunade carefully read through the papers before signing them with a heavy heart. With that signature her blond brat, the one she thought of as her son, would now officially be a shinobi of Suna with the Kazekage's approval, which would happen. There was no way Gaara would let Naruto go if given the opportunity to keep him.

The Gama Sennin watched Tsunade leave the training grounds with the still stunned Shizune, Kakashi, and Sakura trailing behind her. What he had told Tsunade was the truth. He did still have things to teach Naruto, though undoubtedly the hidden blond prodigy would learn just as quickly as he had during the training trip. However he had not told her the other motives he had for wanting to go to Suna. Gaara and Naruto were going to provide Jiraiya with some of the best and hottest research material he had ever gathered. The series of books the two Jinchuuriki would inspire would be the best Jiraiya would ever write; he was sure of it.

Naruto was moving at speeds rivaling those his father, the Kiiroi Senkou, was said to be capable of and undetectable to the human eye. He couldn't stop moving. To stop moving meant he wouldn't be there in time to save Gaara. Naruto would never ever forgive himself if Gaara was hurt when he could have prevented it and he would follow Gaara if the red-head died. Kankuro didn't deserve to die or be poisoned either. Gaara and Temari would be sad if their brother was hurt and they couldn't do anything to help him. Because if what Naruto had Seen was accurate then Suna's medics had absolutely no clue of how to remove, much less find an antidote, a poison created by Akasuna no Sasori, even with the aid of Elder Chiyo, who was Sasori's grandmother.

The only good thing about what Naruto had Seen was that he had deduced several things about both Akatsuki members. Sasori wasn't human anymore and had turned himself into a puppet. He had also been the first one to create human puppets, puppets made from human corpses with all of the abilities the human had in life. Sasori had over almost three hundred of these human puppets and the most dangerous one was the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage, who was legendary for his control and use of Satetsu, the Iron Sand. The only way to beat the puppet master would be to destroy the compartment in his chst that holds his heart, the only living part of his body left. Deidara was heavily dependent on his hands and he clay. Removing Deidara's arms, like the Gaara in the vision had done, would be very effective. Without the mouths on his hands to mold the explosive clay the Iwa nuke-nin would be unable to fight back. Besides, both of the Akatsuki fuckers needed to pay for even thinking about hurting Gaara or taking Shuukaku from the crimson-haired Jinchuuriki.

As Naruto touched the sand that signalled the border of Kaze no Kuni he went impossibly faster. His rise in speed was directly proportional to the feeling of urgency that was spurring him on and encouraging to go even faster. Time was running out. The two Akatsuki partners were getting closer to one of the smaller entrance gates where they were being expected by their spy inside Suna, who was one of the many that answered to the corrupt oraganization and more specifically answered to Sasori, who was the spymaster for Akatsuki. Naruto knew he wouldn't be there before the battle started but he would be there before Gaara or Kankuro was hurt. If only he had been to Suna before. Having a Hiraishin jutsu-shiki kunai or one of the seals planted within the walls would have meant he could have gotten to Suna long before Deidara and Sasori could get even close to Suna. So Naruto continued to run with the wind and hope for the best.

Gaara had been feeling uneasy all day. At first the uneasiness had been slight but it had progressed throughout the day. There was no logical reason to feel this uneasy but Gaara didn't ignore it. His instincts had never led him astray before and they wouldn't now. Strangely, some anticipation had begun to mingle with the uneasiness, which was rather odd. Actually, it rather reminded him of the first time he saw Naruto. The gorgeous blond Jichuuriki who was beautiful inside and out as well as kind, compassionate, determined, skilled, and practical. In other words Naruto was absolutely perfect, but Gaara didn't think he would ever work up enough courage to ever say anything like that to the sapphire-eyed nymph. Those sapphire eyes had captivated the crimson-haired Jinchuuriki since the first time their eyes had met in that alley. Sapphire and teal meeting for a small eternity.

Gaara was not so lost in his thoughts as to miss the almost panicked footsteps approaching his office or that the owner of those footsteps and the familiar chakra signature was his brother Kankuro, who was usually fairly unflappable due to dealing with Gaara's moods in his actively psychotic days. Moods that he was prone to relapsing to when he was very pissed off. Besides, they were a great deterrent when the ancient members of the Council of Suna were acting up in ways Gaara did not appreciate. Who were they to tell him that he should find a politically advantageous female and marry her? They had never shown interest in his life before; when they thought he was a monster. He had no desire to touch much less marry some weak female who would never be his equal in anything. Naruto had always been and would always be his equal. The steady rising of his blood-soaked sand and the feral look in his eyes had disabused them of their ridiculous notions and the matter was dropped; never to be touched again for fear of truly horrific, bloody death.

Knowing that his brother wouldn't lose his composure without good reason, Gaara cast his senses out as well as his Daisan no Me to see if he could discern the problem. It took no more than a second to see why Kankuro was panicked. There were two Akatsuki members present in the village. One actually inside and the other at the small western entrance gate. But Gaara detected something odd. There was a presence that was rapidly moving across the sands of the desert approaching Suna and the somehow familiar presence showed no hostility. Somewhere in the back of Gaara's mind he had a good idea of who was moving across the sands as if their life and sanity depended upon it, which it did.

It truly was a blessing that their older sister Temari was in Konoha and thus out of harms way. Gaara might not be all that aquainted with human emotions and behavior but neither Kankuro or himself would know what to do with themselves if they lost Temari. She was far safer in Konoha at the moment than she was in Suna, which was about to be attacked. When Kankuro burst through his office door Gaara was already battle-ready and half-way to the door. Not wasting anytime, the puppeteer left the door open and turned around to head back to the observation deck of the Kazekage Tower. Seeing his younger brother, his Kazekage already prepared for battle told him that Gaara was aware of what was going on, so no words were needed, for now.

"Kankuro," The addressed shinobi turned his head to look at the Kazekage. "Evacuate the civilians into the underground bunkers. The Gama Sennin, Jiraiya, warned of a flying bomber amongst the Akatsuki. One of the nuke-nin present is flying atop a clay bird of some sort. The partner is waiting at the western gate." Kankuro nodded in acknowledgement of Gaara's words, including the unspoken 'be careful.'

"Don't worry, it will be done. Just don't do anything stupid; Suna needs its Kazekage." And with that the puppeteer dashed off to make sure someone was in charge of the evacuation. Because no way were these Akatsuki bastards taking his little, almost human acting after Naruto beat some sense into him, brother after all of the things he had achieved in spite of all of the shit he had been through in his life. Gaara could take care of the flying fucker but he would take care of the scorpion laying in wait at the western gate. Besides, he really didn't want to be the one to explain to furious blonds, Temari and Naruto, that he had failed and let Gaara be captured by a bunch of power-hungry lunatics that probably wanted to take over the world. He was man enough to admit that the two blonds terrified him and that both of them could hand him his ass without breaking a sweat id they were so incline. So he was taking no chances and no one could blame him.

Gaara only watched his sibling leave for a second before using a Suna Shunshin to transport himself onto the roof of the tallest building in Suna. It didn't take much effort to find the flying bomber. The clay bird, black cloak with red clouds, and the blond hair up in a ponytail stuck out like a sore thumb in the night air of Suna. It quickly became apparent to the teal-eyed Kazekage that the Iwa nuke-nin wasn't taking him seriously. The nuke-nin seemed to be under the impression that Gaara was a push-over. Well that mistake very rapidly became apparent when Gaara used his Sabaku Fuyuu, Desert Sand Floating, to even the playing field so to speak and ripped off one of the troublesome Akatsuki member's left arm off with his Sabaku Kyuu, Desert Coffin.

Unfortunately, the loss of his arm had only made the Iwa nuke-nin desperate. The constant bombardment of clay explosives were taking there toll on Gaara, who was trying desperately to prevent the bombs from reaching the shinobi still in the village below him. However the blond Akatsuki member known as Deidara was not above fighting dirty. It was very obvious to Gaara what his opponent was about to do. All the Kazekage could do was shield his village from the rather large bomb the clay-user was going to use, even if it left him vulnerable and therefore very susceptible to the damage the bomb would cause.

Suna was within Naruto's advanced eyesight and he could see that the fight was already underway. Analyzing all of his options Naruto knew it would be best to take out Sasori first so as to prevent Kankuro from being poisoned, especially when Naruto was probably the only one who could help him in the event it did happen and he would probably be too exhausted to do so. So Naruto aimed for the western gate into Suna to make sure the nuke-nin Akasuna no Sasori was taken care of. Because if the blond Jinchuuriki had his way there would be two less nuke-nin in the Bingo Book by tomorrow morning. He would make sure of it.

Naruto wasn't sure who was more surprised, Kankuro or Sasori. Not that he could tell what Sasori's expression was inside that puppet armor he wore. And Kankuro looked more than relieved to see Naruto in Suna at such a critical time. Besides, if Naruto was in Suna then maybe Gaara would be less grumpy and they would provide the puppeteer with lots of blackmail material, if he ever screwed up the courage to use. They were more than capable of kicking his ass after all.

It didn't really surprise Naruto that Kankuro had summoned Karasu, Kuroari, and Sanshouuoto aid him because he was facing an enemy shinobi, but the blond had to wonder if the puppeteer knew exactly who he was facing. Because if Naruto remembered correctly all of the puppets Kankuro used had been made by Akasuna no Sasori before he left the village. The only way a puppet master like Sasori was going to be beaten by another puppeteer was if they were very experienced puppet masters with their own original puppets. The only person who even remotely fit that description was the oldest puppet master in the village of Suna, Chiyo, the grandmother of Sasori and great-grandmother of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. If the shocked look when Naruto spoke was anything to go by then Kankuro hadn't had a clue, yet, as to who he was fighting to protect Gaara.

"Akasuna no Sasori, you will die today for your transgressions just as your partner Deidara will." Not wasting another breath on the caught off guard nuke-nin of Suna; Naruto used that weakening of his guard to disappear for a moment only to reappear above him and then proceeded to drive his fist straight through the puppet armor and into the container thus crushing the remains of Sasori's heart. The nuke-nin was permanently dead before he hit the ground. The puppet master of the Akatsuki had underestimated the blond Jinchuuriki who took full advantage. Kankuro was family and no one hurts a member of Naruto's family and gets away with it. Just like Deidara wasn't going to get away with hurting his most precious person, Gaara.

"You alright Kankuro? I almost didn't think I would get here in time."

Kankuro smirked weakly in relief. There was no way he would have won against Akasuna no Sasori using puppets the man himself had built. He had been very lucky that Naruto had shown up to save his ass. Though it had been rather awe-inspiring to see how easily the blond Jinchuuriki had killed the legendary puppeteer prodigy. "Yeah, I'm fine Naruto. Thanks, I wouldn't have won that battle, not without serious help."

"I would suggest you seal him in a scroll. He turned himself into a puppet and had quite a few scrolls of hitokugutsu, human puppets, on his body. I crushed his heart to kill him; that was the only living part of him left. I would use them everything; it would be beneficial to Suna. But be real careful of the poisons he used. All of them he created personally and they are all deadly Kankuro." Naruto stopped and looked toward the center of the village. "I have to go help Gaara." And the blond disappeared again, this time in the direction of the fight above Suna.

Kankuro was a bit bemused but he saw the logic in Naruto's words. He was one of the few that saw through and understood Naruto's mask. So, knowing that the blond was intelligent, and a genius in his own right, he decided to follow Naruto's advice. Sasori and all the useful equipment on him would suit Kankuro just fine and would be beneficial to the protection of Suna. Though he would keep all those warnings about poison in mind. Rarely did very experienced puppeteers use anything but deadly poisons unless the mission called for somethinf else. The very idea that Sasori had turned himself into a puppet was disturbing and so was seeing the truth of Naruto's words rigt in front of him. Quickly Kankuro sealed away everything of Sasori's, including his puppet body and puppet armor, and headed back to Kazekage Tower. With Naruto here there was no reason to hurry. No way was the blond going to let harm befall his beloved psychotic insomniac, so Gaara was in safe hands.

The scene before Naruto's eyes was making his blood boil. The damnable Iwa nuke-nin was already preparing the bomb that he intended to drop on Suna as a way to leave Gaara vulnerable. A glance at the red-head proved that said red-head was aware of what the explosion-happy shinobi was intending to do and he was prepared to sacrifice himself for his village. Gaara was not going to be hurt, not if Naruto had anything to say about it and he did. Going on pure instinct Naruto used his wind elemental chakra to fly through the air and proceeded to rip the unfortunate Deidara's other arm off, finishing the job Gaara started.

Gaara had been shocked when a black and gold blur had streaked towards Deidara who began to spurt and gush blood as his other arm was harshly ripped off. However, any shock the crimson-haired Kazekage had felt disappeared when Naruto appeared beside him, floating in the air with Deidara's right arm in his hand. All Gaara felt now was a kind of euphoria that was the result of knowing that Naruto had seemingly run to the red-head's aid when he was faced with the threat of Akatsuki. Gaara now recognized the familiar chakra signature that had been heading for Suna at a rapid pace. He should have known. Naruto always had been the one to save him, had always been his savior.

However, the Kazekage only let himself be distracted for a second before he turned his attention to the threat at hand. With the Akatsuki member utterly defenseless Gaara used Sabaku Sousou, Desert Funeral, to completely crush the Iwa nuke-nin Deidara until there was only blood for Gaara's sand to soak up. Looking over in the direction Naruto had been Gaara found the space empty. Searching the area almost frantically Gaara found Naruto on the observation deck of the Kazekage Tower speaking with a group worried and relieved shinobi, including his brother Kankuro.

Landing on the deck himself only caused Gaara to be the center of attention for his thankful shinobi. Amidst the chaos Gaara somehow lost Naruto who had disappeared from sight once again. As everything was sorted out the assembled shinobi gradually left until only Kankuro remained.

"Go to your room and rest little brother, you need and deserve it. Deidara is dead by your hand and Sasori was killed by Naruto."

Gaara almost protested his brother's orders, but he was rather tired, the fight had taken its toll on him. He was rather pleased that Naruto had disposed of Suna's most dangerous nuke-nin. The crimson-haired Kazekage was not so pleased with the disappearing act the blond had pulled right after Deidara was killed. It had been quite a long time since he had seen the blond Jinchuuriki. Besides, Naruto obviously needed his own rest after running at high speeds all the way to Suna from Konoha then fighting with two S-class shinobi who were a part of an organization whose plans include taking Jinchuuriki before painfully extracting the Biju they hold. Naruto should have waited for Gaara to speak with him, let him make sure the blond was real, that he had really been by Gaara's side.

Kankuro, seeing the stubborness in his younger brother's stance and knowing the cause, insisted that Gaara go to his bedroom and rest. The puppeteer knew full well that Gaara was upset by the absence of his beloved kitsune and was trying to put him out of his misery. Said beloved kitsune had left to go clean up and wash all the sweat and sand that had accumulated on his body as well as go wait in Gaara's bedroom so that the red-head could get everything under control. After all, a reunion was best conducted when the parties involved were alone and had no chance of interruptions.

With a heavy heart Gaara went to his bedroom. There was no way he could afford to expend more chakra in an effort to find his elusive blond, who could be half-way to Konoha for all he knew. Strangely, the closer Gaara got to his bedroom the more he felt the feeling of anticipation rise up in him as if something deep inside him knew something his conscious mind did not. So with that feeling in mind the teal-eyed sand-user quietly opened the door to his bedroom only to stop at the breath-taking sight before him. There, perched on the window seat was his missing blond kitsune dressed in loose sleeping clothes, bathed in moonlight, and staring outside at the stars in the midnight sky.

The shirt Naruto was wearing was a bit too large for him and hung off one shoulder leaving a wide expanse of soft golden skin and a slender neck open to Gaara's heated gaze. It seemed that Naruto had not left Suna as Gaara had thought, but had rather gone to get cleaned up from the results of his exertions. Closing the door silently, Gaara approached the seemingly oblivious blond Jinchuuriki, who wasn't as completely oblivious as he seemed.

Finally noticing a familiar presence in the room with him Naruto turned to face whoever it was. The world came to a stand still and time froze as warm sapphire met and were held intense teal. Wordless communication, that was the only way to describe what was transpiring between the two Jinchuuriki who wanted nothing more than to be with the other, to always stand by the other's side and never leave. Forever would never be long enough for either of them. Not for they who would have forever if Fate let them and Lady Lucky gave her blessing.

"Gaara." That one word, that one name, hung in the air between them but the emotions behind it were far-reaching in their effects. Without another word Naruto stood and launched himself at the unprepared red-head who was not expecting such a response from his kitsune. Naruto wrapped himself around Gaara and held onto him as if he were about to be dragged away by some unseen force. What startled the crimson-haired Kazekage the most though was the wetness that was seeping through his coat and mesh shirt. There was only one reason for his shirt being wet, especially in the desert.

His fears were confirmed when his kitsune lifted his head up to look him in the eye. Silvery tears were falling down marked cheeks and a mixture of pain, fear, and relief resided in those tormented sapphire eyes. Gaara did not like that Naruto was in any kind of pain, didnot like that the blond was crying, and especially did not like that something had caused his kitsune to feel fear. The red-head's arms wrapped around Naruto and held the blond as close as he could as if he too feared that something would rip the blond from him.

"I almost lost you!" The anguish in Naruto's voice sent a stab of pain and elation through Gaara's heart. Pain for Naruto's anguish and elation at the sign of Naruto's caring. "I didn't think I would make it! If I had been just a little slower in getting here or took a little longer in killing Sasori I **would **have lost you. I never want to lose you Gaara! Never! It would kill me."

Gaara was taken aback at those passionate words. But they filled his heart with hope, hope that Naruto returned the feelings that he had bottled up inside for fear of rejection. So slowly, so as to capture Naruto's full attention, and so as to not scare the blond off, Gaara took a chance. He brought his hands up and gently cupped tear-stained cheeks and raised Naruto's face up to let their lips meet in a gentle kiss. It was nothing more than a mere caress of skin on skin, of lips on lips, but it was their first and it meant everything. This kiss voiced all the things they wished to say but never had the courage to.

_I love you. I want to be with you. You are mine and I am yours. Stay with me. Always be with me. Never leave me. I will never leave you. I am not complete without you. You are all I want. You are all I need. Love me, cherish me, as I love and cherish you, as I always will. We are one._

That mere brushing of lips soon became more passionate as both gained confidence from their wordless conversation. They had nothing to fear, their other half, the one who completed them, accepted them, loved them, and always would. So there was nothing to fear, nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Curious hands roamed, exploring untouched skin, both craving the contact between them, never wanting this feeling to end, this feeling of being whole.

Gaara nipped and sucked and licked at the tempting golden throat be presented to him so submissively, causing absolutely delicious moans of pleasure, of want, to be carried on the night air. His kitsune was just too tempting to resist. He tugged the loose shirt Naruto was wearing off with no resistance from the blond, baring even more flawless golden flesh to his gaze. The red-head held in his own moan of need when nimble fingers brushed lightly, teasingly, along the skin of his neck before divesting him of his coat and his mesh shirt, leaving both of them topless. Bare skin pressed against bare skin as they molded their bodies together, trying to be as close as possible as they moved in to kiss each other again.

Tongues danced together as they savored each other's flavor and hands explored now bare skin just waiting to be touched. Gradually Gaara maneuvered them towards the large futon across the room, never slackening his hold on his precious kitsune. Tenderly Gaara lowered them onto the futon, never breaking their kiss. Lovingly Gaara stroked Naruto's sides, never losing the contact that both desired more than anything else at the moment.

Eventually Naruto broke their kiss to mewl into the night air as Gaara had found one of his sensitive nipples and had begun to play. The sensations that they were feeling could not be properly described. Neither had ever felt anything so good, so right, it was addicting. Letting one hand play with Naruto, Gaara used the other to remove the loose pants the blond had been wearing. This time he didn't bother to hold in his moan of pleasure when it became very obvious that Naruto had been wearing nothing under those loose, flimsy night pants. All that knowledge did was enflame Gaara more and stoke the fire in his blood higher. The red-head wasted little time in removing his own pants as he listened to the sounds of pleasure being made by his partner, and if everything went well his mate.

Using his sand, Gaara retrieved the jar of lotion that he had and that all citizens of Suna had by necessity. But it would serve a very different purpose tonight. Coating his fingers, Gaara moved so that he was completely between Naruto's legs and looked up into Naruto's pleasure glazed eyes. Using one hand to slowly stroke the blond's hard cock, the crimson-haired Jinchuuriki silently asked if the blond wanted this. Knowing the question that Gaara was asking and very much wanting it, Naruto nodded, his passion-swollen lips parted as he panted in pleasure. Pressing one finger in, the Kazekage began to stretch his mate. To distract Naruto from any discomfort he might be feeling Gaara latched onto the spot on the blond's slender neck that he wanted to bear his mark.

Soon a second finger was added, then a third. By then Naruto's moans had become louder as Gaara began to brush against something inside him that made him see stars. The pain of the stretching only seemed to add to Naruto's pleasure. While the blond was distracted Gaara coated his own cock in lotion so as to make it easier on his kitsune. Removing his fingers, which caused Naruto to mewl in disappointment for a moment, Gaara pressed his long, thick cock at Naruto's entrance. White hot pleasure filled the blond as Gaara buried himself to the hilt in Naruto's tight heat. Naruto's muscles contracted around Gaara's cock, sqeezing him even tighter than before.

"So tight... so hot... so perfect."

Naruto was so full and it felt so good. So good it almost made him wonder why they had waited so long. This feeling was so addicting, this feeling of Gaara in him, Gaara around him, it made him wish it could last longer than forever.

"Please Gaara. Move." To go along with his words Naruto rolled his hips in the most delicious way. This spurred Gaara on and soon the red-head was pounding into the blond beneath him. Their cries of pure bliss rang throughout the bedroom as they found a rhythm. In. Out. In. Out. Faster. Deeper. Harder. More. More. More.

Both of them rocked and thrust and stroked and kissed as they made their way colser to the pinnacle of their pleasure together. The closer they got the more the pleasure they were experiencing seemed to rise in response. Feeling the end coming near, Gaara began to pump Naruto's cock in time with his thrusts and once again latched onto that one special spot on his kitsune's neck. One of Naruto's hands went down to help the hand Gaara had wrapped around his cock as the blond wrapped his legs around Gaara's waist to deepen the connection between them. Then Naruto sought that one special spot on Gaara's neck that he would mark. They would be mate's before the sun rose in the sky.

As the pleasure exploded between them, both bit down hard enough to draw blood and their passion rose to new heights as both felt the unbreakable bond between them form. They were one and now always would be. No one could dispute that or deny it. Coming down from their euphoria, both relaxed for a moment to bask in this new and very welcomed feeling of being complete, being whole, of knowing they would never truly be alone again.

Eventually Gaara moved to clean them both up. He did this quickly, not wanting to leave his mate's side for too long. The red-head stopped for a moment to admire the red kanji for love that now adorned his mate's neck with a feeling of possessive pride. He didn't even have to look to know that a nine-lined spiral now adorned his own neck and that gave him a sense of belonging. Slipping back into bed, Gaara brought Naruto in closer to his body, wanting to feel his mate's bare skin against his own once again, even if both were too tired from today's events to do much more. Naruto for his part curled against his larger mate, also wanting and ssavoring the contact between them.

They fell asleep beneath the moonlight knowing that neither of them would ever be alone again.


End file.
